| Dear Katy, It is no accident that the years since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision brought Republican waves, state legislative takeovers and Donald Trump. The Supreme Court empowered corporations to pour cash into elections, with disastrous results. Citizens United boosted Republican vote share by 3 to 4 points in states where a ban on corporate spending was previously in effect, according to one study.1 Corporations use their deep pockets to rig the system, blocking efforts to respond to climate change, lower drug prices and combat inequality. Rep. Salud Carbajal's new bill would fight back by forcing corporations to disclose their political spending.2 Republicans have blocked the idea for years, but with a new Democratic House of Representatives and 75 percent of Americans in support, it is time for a major push. Can you help? Fight Citizens United: Expose secret corporate election spending. Click here to sign the petition. What we really need is to get all corporate money out of politics, roll back Citizens United, end corporate personhood and institute public financing of elections. And we are working hard toward those long-term goals. But in the short term, given how corrupt the system is, the disclosure of corporate political spending would be a meaningful, though small, step forward. And it's one we can achieve. When the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a rule mandating that corporations disclose political spending to shareholders, it received 1.2 million public comments – the most in the SEC's history – including tens of thousands from CREDO members. But then Republicans sprung into action and inserted riders into legislation to block the SEC from moving forward with the rule. Rep. Carbajal's legislation would demand that the rule go forward.3 Indefensibly, CEOs are able to keep both the public and their own shareholders in the dark about the use of company funds for political ends. This gives CEOs free rein to make political expenditures that they would never be able to justify publicly — including campaigns so toxic they would inevitably tarnish the company's brand were the funding source made public. Ever since Citizens United, secret corporate money has been flooding our elections, hijacking our democracy and undermining our nation. Giant corporations – including big oil, big pharma and defense contractors – can get away with spending nearly unlimited amounts without voters, customers, or shareholders ever knowing. We need to fight back – and the first step is demanding that corporations come clean about their political spending. Fight Citizens United: Expose secret corporate election spending. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/disclose-corporate-political-spending?t=9&akid=31841%2E12967895%2EGYU5zh Thank you for speaking out, Josh Nelson, Co-Director
CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: - Dylan Matthews, "The tyranny of the majority isn't a problem in America today. Tyranny of the minority is." Vox, Sept. 12, 2018.
- Rep. Salud Carbajal, "Carbajal Reintroduces the Corporate Political Disclosure Act," Feb. 9, 2019.
- Rep. Salud Carbajal, "Shining a light on corporate spending in our elections," The Hill, May 8, 2018.
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